Saturday, December 17, 2011

Baby It's Cold Outside!!! (Tortellini Soup)

Yesterday was rainy, windy, and a bit yucky. I woke up this morning to snow :) Gotta love New York. Cold weather, snowy day, perfect for soup making.

After the kids had a play date, we stopped by the grocery store for a few ingredients. Soup is quite simple to make. You can add a few ingredients or really amp it up with the whole pantry. We chose to make a soup with a short ingredient list.

Adam was my sous chef. I am really determined that both of my boys will know how to cook basics. They have been helping me in the kitchen with age appropriate tasks for a while. Today's lesson had Adam front and center. While he doesn't eat soup right now, he's learning basic kitchen skills, and someday may try it.

He had the job of peeling carrots, chopping the onion (in the mini chopper, with supervision), and dumping all the veggies into the soup pot. I stirred, added the stock, and kept a watchful eye on the simmering pot. Together we made a tasty pot of tortellini vegetable soup, and more importantly had much needed "Adam and Mommy time".

In a large stock pot, heat a tablespoon of oil. Add chopped vegetables, salt, pepper, and saute for about 5 to 7 minutes. Add vegetable stock, bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 to 45 minutes. The vegetables should be tender. Add frozen tortellini, cover, and cook another 5 to 7 minutes. Once the tortellini is cooked through, remove from heat. Check for salt and pepper, and adjust to taste. Ladle into bowl and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve with bread, such as my Italian Bread.

** NOTE: If you are making this ahead or freezing it, don't add the tortellini until you are ready to serve. **